


Mississippi Pines

by mrswinchester67



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Original Character(s), Self-Harm Trigger, Self-Loathing, im really terrible at chapter breaks, like holy shit idk how to do this, mentions of depression, my first chaptered fic, slight suicide mention, supernatural universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-15 17:16:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5793169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrswinchester67/pseuds/mrswinchester67
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While straddling a bar stool and nursing a glass of Jameson, Kate gets pulled out of her thoughts by a guy who she thinks is just cruising for a hookup. But as the conversation continues, she realizes there's more to this guy than she thinks and she might even be able to tolerate him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't planning on posting this when I first started typing this idea out, but the further along I got, the more I thought, what the hell. So I tried to edit it as best I could by myself and see what you guys think. This is my first fic that is more than just a one shot so please let me know what you think.

This isn’t the first time she’s felt like this, but it was definitely the worst. The paralyzing  fog of depression was a constant for her, but doubled with an enormous stress load and paired with her anxiety flare, she decided to make her way downtown to straddle a bar stool. As she sat hunched over her glass of Jameson, feet tucked behind the bottom rung on the stool, she let the whiskey burn its way down her throat and hopefully make her feel something. The smoke in the room burned her nasal passages with each breath while the classic rock music that she would have normally been singing to, equated to a dull hum like all of the other voices in the bar.

She had signaled the bartender to refill her glass a third time when she felt somebody sit in a barstool down from her left. Being a paranoid bastard as she was, she watched him out of the corner of her eye as he ordered a beer for himself. The bartender sat her whiskey down with a small smile and grabbed the other guy’s beer. She decided he probably wasn’t a threat or maybe she just didn’t really care anymore. Either way, he clearly could have sat at one of the MANY unoccupied stools further away from her. She sat towards the end for a reason because usually, people don’t sit next to the loners. Obviously this guy didn’t get the memo. She rolled her eyes as she took a swig of her drink and let the cool, amber liquid pass her lips as she took a mental inventory of the knives tucked in her back pocket and boot. She silently berated herself for not sticking her small Tarus .38 in her back waistband as she left her car, but taking a gun into a bar is usually asking for trouble anyway.

Having grown up in the Deep South, she was no stranger to guns and weapons of all shapes and sizes and how to handle them. She didn’t start carrying though, until it seemed like you couldn’t go out without somebody getting shot, robbed, stabbed or killed. Seeing someone getting beat to death with a baseball bat in a mall parking lot when you were a kid kinda makes you paranoid. Ever since then, she’s at least had a knife on her at all times.

The guy a stool over from her didn’t really give off a creepy im-gonna-jump-you-when-you-walk-out vibe, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She did notice though, that he kept low-key side eyeing her like he was waiting on the best time to speak to her. Which, if you asked her, was never. It was times like these when she went to the bar to drink **_alone_. ** Not go alone and meet somebody, and strike up a conversation, but to truly just have a drink or five by herself and think as less as possible until she willed herself to call a cab.

If he was trying to be subtle, he was doing a very bad job of it. She could tell every time he would do that ‘scan the room and slightly linger on one person and try to be slick about it’ thing. It’s like she could see the wheels turning in his brain coming up with a pick up line he hadn’t used that week yet. She even saw him mentally scold himself and shake his head a little. She let out a sigh and brought her glass up to her lips again, let it clink against the bar as she let it back down a bit harder than normal, and gave herself a VERY unamused look in the mirror behind the bar.

“I know that sigh”, the man finally spoke, with a lopsided grin. He turned in his seat ever so slightly toward her as he finished off the last couple ounces of his beer and sat it down.

She rolled her eyes and looked up at herself in the mirror and down again.

_Why not. I’ll bite this time._

“Oh really?” she said in the most uninterested tone she could muster. “And what sigh is that?” she said, looking down at the ice cubes floating in her drink.

“That’s an easy one. I hear it come out of my own mouth all the time.” He paused, probably hoping she’d jump at the bait and warm up a little more and talk, but she stayed quiet.

“That sigh means you’re done.” He continued as he leaned on the bar with his elbows with a sigh. “Just… emotionally, physically, mentally, done. You just wanna grab all your shit, throw it in your car and haul ass across some state lines until you get tired of driving. Then you’d get out, find a quick job and a local motel, get a new name and a new identity and just be somebody else.”

The bartender sat a fresh beer in front of him and took the empty one. He’d pretty much hit the nail on the head. Though, she hated to admit it. She didn’t like when people could read her. Most people couldn’t because they just took one look at her, and moved on to the nearest Malibu Barbie lookalike and never gave her a second glance. She couldn’t count how many times she ached to just hit the road and drive until she found a town that just felt right and start a new life.

“What makes you think any of that?” she took another confident sip of her almost empty glass and crossed her arms on the raised edge of the bar and gave him a glance over her shoulder.   
“I just know the look.” He raised his beer halfway to his mouth but stopped. “although I gotta say,” he glanced at her and did a quick once over that ended in a smile that she, much to her chagrin, didn’t completely loathe, “it looks a lot better on you than it does me.” He took a long dreg of his fresh beer and she finished off hers trying to hide the corner of her mouth that was trying to smile.

She would NOT let this guy run this. He was very cute, she had to admit but he also seemed the type that got whatever he wanted and she was not about that life. She’d become somewhat of, okay very much of a feminist over the last few years of life and this guy had another thing coming if he thought she was some air headed girl looking for a man to tell her what to do.

She huffed out what I guess you’d call a laugh as she held up a couple fingers to signal the bartender. She hadn’t decided if it was going to be another drink or the check yet as she let the conversation hang in the air. The bartender looked at her expectantly waiting on her to make a decision as she stared back mentally weighing her options, finally tipping her fingers like a mock glass deciding to sit a while longer. She was playing a game trying to figure him out but she knew he was doing the same thing.

“So what’s your story then?” she turned toward him and rested her right elbow and leaned on the bar, nonverbally accepting the offer to play this game. “you just finding this place, or you about to haul ass?” the corner of his lips turned up as he took another sip of his beer and turned and basically mirrored her.

“Well, sweetheart, that’s a long ass story that I’m not sure you’d want to hear anyway.” He said with a hidden but still discernable smirk on his face.

_Oh he THINKS he’s playing some game._

“So you just know all about me huh?” she leaned over and mouthed a “thank you” to the bartend who just placed another glorious drink next to her and she took another sip, leaned back, arched her brow, and waited on him to say something stupid.

“I wouldn’t say that. But… I do know how it feels to have all this shit going on in your life and in your head and nobody to tell it to. Or even if you did, they probably wouldn’t believe you and they’d just tell you ‘buck up’, ‘pray’, or just look at you like your crazy.” He turned back toward the bar and hunched over his beer

Okay, maybe she was the only one playing game here, and now she felt like a dick. The tone in his voice was a bit sobering. It was darker than it had been a bit ago. Like he hadn’t planned on opening the door to this conversation quite this far. She sat her drink down, a little bit more sober than she had been a second ago.

“Look I’m sorry man. I’ve just been a little on edge recently. And you’re right. About… well everything. I do just wanna pack up and go. Be somewhere else. Be somebody new.” She turned back towards the bar and ran her finger around the rim of her glass.

“Eh, it’s okay. I’ve said way worse at way less.” He turned back a bit towards her.

“So if you don’t mind me askin’, what’s a girl like you doin’ in this rat hole like this?”

She huffed a laugh, “I guess I just wanted to go somewhere where nobody knew me even in my hometown.” She took another sip.

“You always go by yourself like this?” he seemed almost genuinely worried. Or surprised. She couldn’t tell.

“Yeah. I can take care of myself when I need to.” She said with a tighter set jaw. There’d been a few times she came home at the end of the night with bloody knuckles, bruises and dirty clothes.

 “Oh I didn’t mean that. I saw the knife you got stuck in your boot, and I’m pretty sure I saw another one in your back pocket. I’m sure you can handle yourself just fine.”

She hoped the low lighting hid the small smile that she couldn’t stop from appearing. He might have just earned himself a little credit.

“I meant more of why are you at a bar anyway? Job? Family?...boyfriend?” he swigged his beer again thankfully giving her more time to think of an answer that wasn’t totally emotionally barring.

“Well, that’s a long story for me too. But no. No boyfriend. Just life in general I guess.” She shook her head and sighed just thinking about all the responsibilities waiting on her when she decided to return to the real world and get off this bar stool. “I guess the main thing is that I have no fucking clue what to do with my life. Nothing I do seems to be the thing ya know.” She downed the last couple ounces like an oversized shot.

“Nothing seems to be what thing?” he looked at her, his green eyes heavily browed with an intense look like he was genuinely interested in her answer.

“Well you know. Like, nothing screams out at me ‘me! Pick me! Do this one job the rest of your miserable life!’ ive been in college going on six years this fall, **_IF_** I even go back, and im just absolutely fed up. I’ve changed my major three times and nothing is me. Just… nothing. I’m not cut out for that 8-5 life and I have no clue what to do.” She sighed as she picked up her empty tumbler and rolled it around on its bottom. The bartend heard the glass, looked up from his current customer and mouthed, ‘be there in just a minute’ and she waved him off and told him to take his time. She should slow down now anyway. This would be her fifth whiskey he was gonna give her and she was definitely feeling it after basically chugging that last one. She did want to get drunk but not within a couple hours. After a minute or so of silence, she realized she’d zoned out and forced herself to get out of her inner monologue.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to start spewin’ my personal bullshit all over you. I don’t usually do that. I don’t know why..” she was interrupted at the end of her sentence.

“Hey hey, no I asked. It’s completely fine. I was just waiting until you seemed ready to talk again. But I know exactly what you mean. I’ve never been an 8-5 job guy myself.” He smiled what she supposes was a reassuring smile but there was a sadness there in the set of his eyes that she recognized from her own reflection many times.

“So what is it that you do? ” she turned sideways in the stool to face him and leaned against the bar.

He huffed a laugh and looked at his hands as he picked at the label on his beer. “I uh, I’m kinda in a family business. Me and my brother anyway. We’re uh… hunters I guess.”

“Really? Huh.” She said, “I didn’t take you for the camo wearing, good ole’ boy type.” She said with a smile, hoping it wouldn’t come off quite as condescending as it had sounded. Country was NOT her type and this guy with his leather jacket, a flannel, jeans and boots didn’t seem that type at all.

“Oh sweetheart, I don’t do camo. You’re right. Don’t drive an oversized truck either.” He laughed and fiddled with his beer in his hands.

“Thank God,” she laughed, “that’s literally 95 percent of the male population around here. I’m about to go crazy. For more reason than one.” She laughed somewhat awkwardly as that last part slipped past her lips without her giving it permission to do so. She looked around for the bartender and her next drink.

“Yeah I bet.” She heard him say as she looked anywhere but his face. She hoped he didn’t hear the last part. This whiskey must have been getting to her more than she thought. She didn’t want to look at him and see the weird inquisitive look that people always had when she tried to be honest about the shit going on in her head.

She had her arm stretched out on the bar fiddling with her empty tumbler and her tattoo on her right inner wrist was showing.

“That’s a cool planchette tattoo on your wrist there.” He said, turning his head at an angle to see it better.

“Oh you like it?” she held her arm out where he could see it and pulled back the sleeve of her jacket. He put a hand under hers and held her wrist lightly to look at it. It almost hid all of her scars.

“Yeah that’s really awesome. You like Ouija boards and ghosts and shit? That kinda stuff?” he asked as he let her wrist go and grabbed his beer.

She ignored the faint chill she got from his callused but surprisingly gentle hand touching hers.

“Oh yeah, definitely! That’s my shit!” she said, probably too enthusiastically as the bartender brought her another cold glass of Jameson. She was just glad for a subject change and a fresh drink right about now.

“So you believe in all that stuff?” he didn’t meet her eyes as he asked. He just kept looking at was apparently the world’s most interesting beer label.

“Yeah I think so” she said as she swirled her drink a bit. “I mean I believe in Heaven and Hell, God and Lucifer and all that. So angels and demons go along with that. And I personally believe in ghosts because it’s just hard to believe there’s no communicating between life and whatever is after death ya know? That’s just me though.” She sipped her drink as he finally looked back up at her with a strange smile she couldn’t quite place.

“what?” she asked, feeling immediately self-conscious.

“Nothin’.” He said. Still smiling but looking down swirling his beer around.

“Seriously what? Is that weird?” she asked, as she was leaning in toward him a lot more than she was a bit ago.

“No, no nothing like that. It’s just that I don’t usually meet a lot of people that think the same way I do.” He said, his eyes still smiling as he looked at her over his beer. “I’m Dean, by the way. Sorry, I probably should have led with that.” He said with a huff. He shook his head a bit as his tongue ran across his lips a bit to dampen them.

“Kate,” she said as he looked back at her and smiled. “So uh, you and your brother, you’re in town to go hunting?” she wondered. To be fair, it was Mississippi, so there were plenty of deer this time of year, but she’s pretty sure that’s not something that would attract out of towners necessarily.

“yeah,” he answered dryly.

Her eyes narrowed a bit and she gave him a skeptical look. She huffed an incredulous laugh as she raised her glass to drink, “yeah cause that sounded convincing.”

He bit his bottom lip and rolled it out as he looked away again. He was definitely hiding something.

“Well you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you what I was here for. But uh… hunting is the closest answer I can give you.” He turned around to face forward and took a long swig of beer. She could tell he kind of regretted telling her what he did but she didn’t want the conversation to end yet. She actually liked talking to this Dean guy. He wasn’t just like every other friggin’ guy in this city.

“Oh come on, how bad could it be?” she asked, not really meaning for it to be rhetorical, but he just laughed once, shook his head and took another drink.

“Is it drugs?” she asked. He smiled a half small and shook his head, holding his beer up in front of him.

“Prostitution ring?” she half joked, but hell, who knows.

“Ha!” he laughed exaggeratedly, “I wish. That’d be a lot more fun.”

“Human trafficking…?” she said as she backed up in a faux scared motion.

He laughed, softer this time, “no, nothing like that.” he said as he finished off the beer and sat it down.

“Well then whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll be cool with it. I’ve seen a lot of shit in my day, son.” She sipped from her glass, suddenly feeling a bit lighter. She was ready for some excitement and she thought this Dean guy might just be her ticket to it for some reason

“Son? Honey I’m older than you are. What are you, like twenty one, twenty two?” he glanced at her sideways, eyeing her up again with that grin. That grin…

She turned to face forward as she sat her glass down and sat up straighter. “I’m twenty three, fuck you very much.” She said as she sipped her drink with feigned arrogance.

“Oh, well by all means, excuse me miss, for robbing you of that one extra year of what I’m sure was a fuckton of knowledge.” He smiled at her when she looked at him and couldn’t think of a comeback. Curse the alcohol slowing her smartass skills.

Her drink sloshed in the glass, spilling a couple drops over her knuckles as she turned back to face him. “So how old are you then, sir?” it felt like it took a bit more effort to force her eyebrows up than it usually does. She sat her drink down and figured it was for the best.

He shook his head, yet again, and gave her a questioning glance _._

_Should I lie or tell her the truth? …fuck it. She seems cool enough._

His expression softened as he looked away from her. “Thirty three.” He picked up his beer, remembered it was empty and sat it back down reluctantly.

“That’s not so bad! The way you were drawing it out made me wonder if you were like really old or some shit.” It really wasn’t bad at all. She preferred men a bit older, but she wasn’t going to be telling him that. He had laughed and kept peeling at the label on his beer with a furrowed brow. She thought he’d been hiding his age, but now that that was out, he still looked reluctant about something.

“Something wrong?” Kate asked, genuinely concerned for this stranger. It was weird to her that she didn’t even know this guy, but something about him. Something about his eyes, or maybe his posture, maybe his voice? she felt like she could trust him but also that there was a lot more to him than he was letting on. It was scary but exciting at the same time. She hadn’t felt this into something for a very long time and she relished it. She was mad at herself for being so stuck up and judgmental at first.

He turned to her a bit suddenly and she leaned back and inch or two. “Look I’m just gonna level with you for a second alright?” the intensity in his eyes floored her and she just shook her head yes.

“I really like talking to you, and I don’t want this to be the only time I ever see you.” He licked his lips again. Must be a nervous habit. “But I’m also kind of worried to keep talking to you.” His worry was definitely evident in the lines of his eyes and the crease in his brow. It just served to draw her in more. She was a glutton for bad decisions.

“Why? Why is that a bad thing?” she asked as she leaned back in. Now he wasn’t the only one with a furrowed brow.

“It’s just really complicated. I can’t explain it to you right now.” He looked away with the most pained expression she’s ever seen on a face, save at funerals and such. “It’s just that… well sometimes people that are around me get hurt.” He clenched his jaw and wouldn’t meet her gaze. “If you just want to get up and walk away, and never see me again, I completely understand.”

What the fuck. He’s gotta be in the mob or something. She could tell he was being dead serious. That was not the face of a joking man. You could almost see the memories of bad things passing in front of his eyes. It was silent as she thought to herself, swallowing hard as she weighed her options. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t think about just walking away. The small, quiet, reasoning side of herself said she should probably run. But the side of her that was literally going crazy in this town that nothing ever happened in except for football and drinking, wanted desperately for something, anything new.

Her heart also pulled toward him and she couldn’t explain why. Yes, he was very good looking and the more she talked to him, the more handsome he became. But she tried to be a bit more rational than a horny teenager would be. This could potentially be life threatening if it’s as bad as he was letting on. But let’s face it: she was life threatening to herself honestly. If she stayed here doing the same things and hating herself all the same ways, it was likely to end very badly. She pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked at Dean. He was still staring at his hands wrapped around the bottle on the bar, leaving her to her thoughts. She had nothing to lose.

“I’m in.” Kate said with the resolution of her decision etched into the sternness of her face. Dean turned his head and searched her face to find any reason to make her say no.

“Are you sure? I mean you don’t even know me. I’m might not be worth whatever you might be giving up,” he said as he looked somewhere to her right so he wouldn’t have to meet her gaze. In his voice she head the same hatred, and self-loathing that she heard in her own thoughts all day long.

 The sadness in his features struck her to the bone. What has this poor man been through? Something happened in that moment that she couldn’t explain. It felt like there had been a string tied to her and that same string just tied itself to him in that moment. She knew that whatever he had been through, she wanted to help him get through. She suddenly felt protective of this guy she didn’t even know existed an hour ago. And honestly, all these intense feelings kind of scared her. She hadn’t opened up herself to those kind of feelings in god knows how long, but there was no going back now. It felt like their fates were tied together. Although only a few drawn out seconds had passed since he’d asked her if she was sure, it was a different world she was living in when she looked back into his eyes.

“I’m sure. And I’m sure you’re worth way more than you let yourself think.” she heard the words come out of her mouth, but they didn’t seem like her own. It had been so long since she’d had a connection anywhere near this and she didn’t know how she knew the words to say.

He finally looked into her blue eyes, and smiled another half smile.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

“Well alright then.” He said with a nod as he looked over his shoulder at the bartender and then looked back at Kate. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but do you maybe wanna go back to my room and we can talk some more there?” he asked carefully.

She looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes and chewed on the inside of her bottom lip. Just one of her many bad habits.

“And I really mean just talk. I promise,” Dean added and tried to look as truthful as possible, if that was a thing.

“yeah, sure I guess. I ain’t got anywhere else to be anyway.” She turned in her seat and lifted her hand a bit to get the bartenders attention and signaled for their checks with a smile and a nod. The bartender hadn’t even laid down Kate’s check before Dean reached over and took hers, put it with his and handed his card over. The bartender smiled and went to close the tabs.

“Dean, you didn’t ha-”

“Of course I did. I interrupted your quiet evening of whiskey and self-reflection so I’ll buy to make it up to you.” Dean smiled back at her as the final check was laid in front of him. He quickly signed it, stood up and held out his arm for Kate to take. “Shall we?” he said as he bowed slightly.

Kate couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she took his arm with a sigh and a reluctant smile.

Dean walked her outside into the cold January night air to his sleek, black ’67 Chevy Impala and opened the passenger door for her. She answered a small thanks as she ducked her head and got in.

“Man, I gotta say, this is one sweet-ass ride.” Kate said after Dean got in and revved up the engine.

“like her?” Dean said as he ran his hand along the dashboard. “Can’t find another one like this baby.” He was beaming with pride as he pushed down the gas pedal, sending gravel and dust flying into the air behind them as they sped out of the lot onto the highway.

“You really love your car don’t you?” she said as a charmed smile spread across her lips.

“Love is probably an understatement. This car’s been pretty much the only constant thing in my life.” Dean’s smile fell a little as he rolled to a stop at a light. “yeah, I’ve spent many a night’s sleep parked in the darkest place I could find. Me in the front, my brother in the back.”

Kate watched him as he watched the road, deciding if he was fucking with her or not. Based on how sincere he’d seemed all night though, that seemed unlikely.

“Were you homeless?” she asked as the light turned green and the car continued forward.

“Nah, I just told you. We had this car.” He looked at her with a pleased smile and then back at the dimly lit asphalt in front of them.

They sat in a companionable silence for a mile or so until Kate thought the silence might be awkward so she reached out to turn the radio on. The first station she scrolled to was the local pop station and she had no idea what the song was. Then she scrolled to her favorite classic rock station. Here I Go Again by Whitesnake blared through the speakers. She smiled and started bobbing her head and singing to the music. She looked at Dean and saw he was giving her a strange look.

“what? You don’t like it?” Kate said, looking away and continuing her weird little dance, swaying her shoulders and hips to the beat of the music.

Dean shook his head with an amused smile as he looked forward again, but not before taking a couple seconds to watch her dance and laughed as she started playing air drums and guitar. It was only a few more seconds and they were both singing and dancing in their seats down the empty highway. They were laughing as the song faded out as they pulled into the motel parking lot and into the space in front of Dean’s door.

Kate was wiping tears from her face from laughing as she opened the car door and got out.   
“Oh man… it’s been a while since I did something like that.” she walked to the front of the car and waited on Dean.

“Yeah, me too.” Dean shut his door and walked to his motel door while he fished the key card out of his pocket. “That’s cool though, that you like older music.”

“That’s practically all I listen to. 60s, 70s, and 80s rock is the best. A lot of my friends scoff at it, but i’m just an old soul I guess.” She nodded as he led her into the small room that looked pretty much exactly like every other low end motel. Two beds with a table and lamp between them. Odd wallpaper patterns that clashed with the outdated carpet and did nothing to hide the questionable stains. And what motel would be complete without that strange stale odor that you couldn’t quite place except that you knew all motels smelled like that. The stale mix of chemicals, smoke, alcohol, dust and time was soaked into every crevice of the room. Dean dropped a huge duffel bag on the floor next to his bed.

“Take a seat anywhere you want.” He said, headed to the mini fridge. “Want a beer or somethin?”

Kate looked around as he rummaged through the contents of the fridge. “Neh that’s okay. I’ll take a water if you got one though.”

Dean grabbed two waters and sandwich makings and made his way to the tiny round table.

“I’m making myself a sandwich. Do you want me to make you one?” he opened the pack of turkey and had a slice hanging out of his mouth before she could even look up and answer.

“Yeah sure. Sounds perfect.” She got up and took a seat at the table and watched him compile their late night sandwiches. As she took off her jacket, she let it fall around the back of the chair she was in.

“So where’s your brother? Did he go to the bar with you?” Kate asked as she took a drink of her water.

“Sam? Oh no, I’m sure he’s off being a geek at a library somewhere.” He finished their sandwiches and slid Kate a sandwich on a paper towel. “Sorry. We don’t have any paper plates or anything.” He said gruffly as he sat down and took a chunk out of his.

“Oh, no this is fine. I do this all the time when I come in late at night.” She took a bite as she thought over what she wanted to say.   
“So your brother Sam is at a library?” she asked between bites. Dean nodded. “On a Saturday night?”

Dean huffed a laugh and nodded again. “He’s doing research. He does that when I go to a bar or something and he ain’t feelin’ it.”

She thought over his words wondering what was so important on a Saturday night at almost midnight. “Is he researching for his job or something?”

“nah, we umm..” he chewed slowly as he tried to figure out the words to explain. “We have to do research on whatever we’re hunting before we hunt it. That way we hopefully lessen our chances of instant death considerably.”

Kate had no idea how to respond to something like that so she just nodded slowly as she took another bite.

“You’re probably pretty confused I guess.” Dean said as he threw the last small bite of his sandwich in his mouth and gulped down some water.

“Well, I guess I just don’t fully understand the situation. Yeah a little confused.” She waited as he wiped his hands on the left over paper towel and then leaned forward with his elbows on the table.

“Okay, look. I’ll tell you what we do, but you gotta promise not to tell anybody because… well, like I said earlier, some things that we do aren’t exactly 100% legal.”

Kate sipped her water as she weighed the question in her mind. But there was no turning back now. She’d made it this far and she didn’t want to go back to the bar and act like none of this had happened. She’d felt more alive in the past couple hours than she had in months.

“Alright fine. Consider me an accomplice then. Let’s hear it.” she said sitting up more and squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin a bit more.

Dean licked his lips again and looked at her with a heavy brow until finally he took a deep breath and exhaled as he sat back in his chair.

“Me and my brother, we kinda hunt monsters.” He watched her face for any signs she was about to run or pull pepper spray or something but she just looked at him with a raised brow and just an overall unreadable expression. So he continued.

“Monsters like uh, well ghosts. Demons or spirits. Hauntings. The occasional vampire nest. Once in a blue moon, a werewolf or two.” By now he was just going for it.

_Fuck easing her into it. She’s either gonna run, or be the chillest woman ever._

“We gank all the uglies that nobody thinks are real. I’m not even getting into the fairies and weird shit. Anything supernatural that can’t be explained by normal human behavior is our thing.”

“So,” Kate paused. Still with the same impassable expression now, just slightly more squinted eyes. “You’re telling me…that you’re basically…” she paused and raised her eye brows “The Ghost Busters, meets Scooby-Doo, meets X-Files?”

Dean laughed but nodded his head. “yeah I mean… that’d just about cover it. Aliens and all.” He waited for the scream that never came. Instead she just started laughing. And not just like a chuckle or giggle, but like doubled over and holding her sides laughing.

“What?” Dean asked with a hesitant smile.

“You’re fucking with me aren’t you?” Kate said with a smile when she sat back up in her chair. “Like somebody’s about to jump out and say I’m on candid camera or some shit?” she looked over her shoulders for the camera men that weren’t there.

“I swear to God or who or whatever is up there that I’m not. It’s the truth.” Dean said as he just stared at her and waited.

“There’s no fucking way… Prove it.” she challenged as she sat up, daring him to prove it.

“Alright,” Dean stood up and crossed the motel in a few long strides. He grabbed the heavy duffel he’d thrown down earlier and put it on the bed. He pulled the zipper all the way open to expose all its contents and tilted it up to where she could see and started pulling out things one by one explaining them and tossing them aside.

“Sawed off shot gun filled with rock salt rounds for ghosts.” He tossed it on the bed.

“Holy water flasks for those pesky demons in your life.” It clanked against the barrel of the gun.

“A case of silver bullets and a pistol for, you guessed it, werewolves. Doesn’t kill em unless it’s a heart shot. And everybody knows that the only way to kill a vampire is beheading.” He said as he pulled out a machete.

“Lighter fluid and rock salt to salt and burn skeletons of ghost so they go back to sleep forever and stop fucking around and getting all vengeful.” He threw them on the bed and looked her straight in the face, willing her to see that he was telling the truth. “I could keep going. And I got a lot more in the trunk if you don’t believe me yet.”

Kate searched his face for any hidden joke or punchline that she wasn’t getting.   
“You’re serious?” she said as the truth and gravity of the situation slowly set in.

“Deadly.” Dean said with a deadpan look. He just knew she was about to get up and leave.

Kate took a deep breath, stood and walked slowly to the bed and picked up a revolver and opened the cylinder. She took out one of the bullets and saw the pentagram etched into the head of it. She nodded slowly and closed the cylinder as she chewed her lip and mulled over everything he’d said. She sat down on the edge of the bed with the revolver in her hands and glanced at all the various hunting items in the bag he hadn’t even gotten to yet. It seemed like ages before she spoke again.

“So you’re telling me…” she spoke slowly and deliberately, “that pretty much everything I thought was just stories or stuff made up to scare kids… is real?” she looked up at him wide eyed, waiting on him to tell her he was joking, but she knew he wouldn’t.

“Yeah pretty much.” He said grimly as she looked back down. He knew how that kind of information can really just royally fuck up somebody’s view on life.

“Angels?” she asked, looking up at him again.

“Oh yeah. Definitely real. Most of ‘em are dicks though. Except for Cas.” Dean said, mostly to himself.

“Cas?” Kate asked, turning the revolver over in her hands just looking at it.

“Castiel, one of my buddies. You’ll meet him. He’s cool. A little aloof sometimes, but cool.” Dean sat down and started putting the stuff back in the bag.

 

Kate spent the next two solid hours asking about any mythical creature or monster she could think of and Dean would tell her what he knew about them and how to kill them. He explained very loosely how he and Sam had learned this from their dad and that its basically just them and a few others hunting and keeping rough tabs on one another. By the end, Kate seemed actually pretty excited and intrigued by everything which was a completely new experience for Dean. He’d never been this honest with a woman he picked up at a bar. Or anywhere else for that matter. He’d never told a girl his job and have her not freak out so he was just as excited as she was. He eventually started regaling her with heroic story after story of hunts they’d gone on and how he’d bested the monster and usually came out on top. He’d just cracked yet another joke that had her laid back on the bed laughing when Sam walked in and stopped with the door open staring at the two of them.

“Well don’t just stand there letting all the warmth out Sammy, shut the door!” dean said with a smile as Kate sat up and smiled at the brother she’s heard so much about.

“I just uh… am I interrupting something? I can just go ba-” Sam said before Dean interrupted him.

“No, no, don’t make it weird. Sam, this is my new friend Kate.” He said as Sam finally shut the door and shrugged off his book bag. “And Kate, I’m sure you know this is Sam by now.”

“Yes!” Kate put out her hand for Sam to shake. “I’ve heard so much about you already!” she said as she smiled warmly up at him.

Sam took her hand a bit hesitantly. “Hey Kate. Nice to meet you,” he said awkwardly and nodded.

“Don’t mind Sam. He just get nervous around pretty women.” Dean said with a smirk as Kate rolled her eyes and looked down at her watch.

“Well, Dean, it’s getting late.” Kate said as she stood up and fetched her jacket on the back of the chair and sat down to put back on her boots she’d kicked off during the story telling.

“Yeah, jeeze” he said as he glanced at his own watch. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize what time it was. Lemme drive you back to get your car.” Dean stood up and took two steps to his keys on the table before she stopped him.

“Oh you don’t have to do that. I texted a friend a few minutes ago and she’s almost here. But thanks for the offer though. I didn’t want you to have to go through the trouble.” She toed on her boots and made sure she had her keys and phone in her pocket as she stood.

“It wouldn’t have been any trouble. Are you sure?” Dean said as headlights of an approaching car outside lit up the room.

“I’m sure. My ride’s here anyway.” She said as she stepped to the window and peaked to make sure. Her friend waved from behind the steering wheel. “yeah that’s her.” she said as she took a deep breath.

“well uh…” Dean took a couple steps toward her until he was in front of her. “i’ll see you later?”

“yeah.” She said with a smile as she ducked her head. “im glad you decided to interrupt my alone time tonight.” Kate looked back up at him. It was only now that she realized just how tall he was. He had to be five or six inches taller than her so he had to be atleast 6’1 or so.

 “Anytime.” He said with a sideways grin. He leaned in a little closer and grabbed her hands with his. “I’ll call you tomorrow?” he said it as a question but he already knew the answer. Any girl that was willing to believe all the shit he did on a daily basis had to be willing for a second date right?

“I’d be mad if you didn’t.” she smiled up at him as he laughed.

“Alright. Well...” he nodded towards the car outside. “Better go. You friend probably already doesn’t like me for making her pick you up at almost four am.”

“She’ll get over it.” kate smiled. She moved a couple steps away towards the door and opened it.   

“Wait,” Dean said grabbing one of her hands, stopping her in the doorway. Kate barely had time to turn in her confusion when she felt his lips on hers and his arm around her waist. She sighed a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding as their lips slid softly against one other. He tugged at her bottom lip the tiniest amount, just giving her enough to want more and then he pulled apart and kissed her once more and leaned up. He ran one hand through her hair once as she smiled a little dazed back at him.

“See you tomorrow sweetheart.” He said with what she was figuring out was his signature smirk apparently.

“maybe..” she said with a smirk of her own and walked out and shut the door.

Dean watched the lights as they pulled out and drove away.                      


	3. Chapter 3

Sam still standing in place next to his bed, stared incredulously at Dean as he shut the door and turned with a triumphant grin on his face. Dean walked over to his bed, ignoring the pointed stare, as he shrugged off his t shirt and jeans and got his toiletry bag out of the duffel.

“Well?” Sam asked expectantly as he threw his arms out at his sides.

“Well what?” Dean fished his toothbrush and toothpaste out of the bag and walked to the tiny bathroom.

“Are you gonna elaborate?” Sam tossed his laptop bag onto the bed and sat down to shuck off his shoes.

“Met her at the bar. We talked, we came back here. Ate a sandwich and talked some more.” The water faucet squeaked in protest as Dean twisted the rust loose in the cold knob to brush his teeth.

“well I mean,… that’s just not how I usually walk in on you and girls you pick up from a bar.” Sam reached behind the bed to plug in his phone charger and started to set his alarms. Dean was silent a few seconds except for the swishing of foamy bristles against his teeth.

“Kate’s different.” He finally said around a mouth full of toothpaste.

“How so? Did she actually play hard to get and this isn’t just a one night endeavor?” sam joked as he slipped on his pj pants and a put on a tshirt.

Dean rinsed his mouth out and looked for a towel to dry his hands and mouth on. Of course there were none so he just lifted his shirt to wipe his face. He walked out and plopped down on his bed, making a face at the loud squeaks coming from the springs in the outdated mattress.

Sam stared at Dean a few moments waiting for a reply but didn’t get so much as a glance or a nod. Seeing as how Dean now had his hands behind his head and his eyes closed, he wasn’t planning on answering.

“hello?” Sam said impatiently.

 “Dude what?” he said, giving him a look only a brother could give.

“What is up with you? You say you’re going out to “cruise the local wildlife” which is exactly why I gave you so damn long before coming back here in the first place. And now you’re buddy-buddy with this girl and apparently talked about me at some point? Why the hell would I come up in a conversation with a bar girl?” Sam sat on the edge of his bed, facing dean, with a look that was all too serious.

Dean let out a long breath, sat up and ran his hands through his hair and turned sitting cross-legged on his bed to face Sam. He opened and closed his mouth a couple times, struggling to find the words as he looked at his brother. Another sigh passed his lips and he shook his head before he looked back up at Sam with a look of hopeful desperation.

“Her name’s Kate.” A faint smile ghosted across his lips as he said her name. “And she’s definitely not my usual ‘bar girl’. She’s… I think she could be a lot more than that.” Dean looked down at his calloused hands fidgeting with the edge of his sheet.

“And honestly…it scares the shit out of me.” Dean looked at the look of concern on Sam’s face and he could hear how weird he sounded.

“Okay well… just… start at the beginning and just tell me what happened.” Sam’s face softened as he saw how nervous his brother was.

Dean huffed a laugh at how ridiculous he felt. He might as well be laying on some psych doctor’s couch crying about his feelings. He ran his hands over his face and took a steadying breath.

“Well, it started off as my usual bar crawl. Ya know, corner booth, and people watching. My usual thing. Then I just… I don’t know. After a couple beers, I just didn’t feel like puttin’ forth the effort so I was gonna go sit at the bar. I looked up to see if it was crowded or not, and then I saw this girl sittin on the far end. She wasn’t with anybody and it looked like she was already on a second whiskey or more.” He paused as he remembered. It had just happened a few hours earlier but it seemed like it was days ago.

“Then I notice this sleezy lookin’ old guy at a table behind her, throwin back a couple’a shots and starin at her a bit.”

“Sleezier and older than you?” Sam joked as he scooted back and got a little more comfortable on his bed.

“Shut up…” dean lightly chided and then continued. “so anyway, I see this guy watchin her, lookin’ like he’s about to make a move, so I decided to just go sit close to her and maybe make him back off. So I sit next to her with a stool between us so it’s not weird ya know? and dude… I’m not proud to admit this but for some reason, I couldn’t come up with a damn ice breaker to save my life.” Sam laughed and rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious! I mean how many lines do I have? Probably hundreds. And in that moment, not a single damn one was good enough. So I sat there. Beer in my hand, hunched over the bar, just rackin’ my brain for something, ANYthing to say to this girl. because she obviously knows I’m here and the longer im silent, the more awkward it gets. And Dean Winchester does not get awkward around the ladies.”

“I also hope he doesn’t refer to himself in the third person around them cause that would just be weird.” Sam said with a shit eating grin.

“Dude, do you mind? I’m trying to tell a story here.” Dean said annoyed. Sam rolled his eyes with a smile and gestured for him to go on.

“thank you… anyway, so im just floundering here, hoping she doesn’t notice, when I hear her let out this big dramatic sigh and set her glass down. So im like, ‘shit she knows I’m fuckin up. and the only lame ass thing that comes out of my mouth is _“I know that sigh”._ Fucking lame right? But anyway, I can tell she doesn’t wanna really talk to me after a few equally lame exchanges and im about to just bail. I could see the creep from earlier saw me and wasn’t gonna bother her most likely so I was just about to leave and go home. And then I don’t know man. I just kinda… let myself say what I was really feeing. Which, you know I never do. So I guess that got her attention a bit more or somethin? I don’t know. We kept talkin and we just… really hit it off. Like, a real conversation. Not me just spittin lines until she agreed to come home with me like I usually do. So after a few more drinks and we got a bit more loosened up and talking, I suggested that we come back here, strictly for an easier place to talk, and she said okay. But dude…” dean shook his head and chewed on his bottom lip.

“She’s awesome.” He said as he looked back up at sam. “we talked a little about like ghosts and stuff and she’s really into it. Which is what made me wanna talk to her more here, where nobody would hear us. So we’re here and, oh and by the way, she likes my music. So suck it” Dean paused for a triumphant glare.

“So we get back here and a throw a couple sandwiches together for us and we’re just talking and what not. Well… I told her.” Dean looks at Sam and waits for the inevitable.

“Told her what…Dean.” Sam looked back at him with a heavy brow and baited breath.

“I uh… I told her what we do.” Dean watched Sam’s face as it sunk in.

“you what…” sam looked at him incredulously.

“I told her we’re hunters.”

“What the fuck Dean!? Why would you do something so stupid? You don’t even know her! she could be at the police station right now telling them a couple psychos are in town!” Sam’s face was red and the vein in his neck was pulsing dangerously.

“Now, hold up, Sam. I know what I’m doing.” Dean tried to say it as calmly as possible knowing how ridiculous this sounded, but it did nothing to set Sam at ease. He got up and began pacing at the foot of their beds.

“like hell you do! Dean, you just met this girl a few hours ago… and you just decide it’d be fun to tell this girl the truth about everything?! After the two fucking decades I spent hiding who I was from what few friends I had, after hiding it from Jessica?” Sam paused and stared at him with pursed lips and hurt in his eyes. When he spoke again, there was no anger in his voice. “And now all of a sudden it’s completely fine and this girl is somehow worthy of the truth?”

This is what Dean had been afraid of. What he was trying to avoid. He knew he’d react this way, and rightly so, but it didn’t change the fact that he didn’t want to discuss it. Dean closed his eyes and clenched his jaw as he let Sam’s anger run its course.

“look,” he said as he looked up with pleading eyes. “Sam I’m sorry. I am. There’s nothing I can do to make what you had to go through okay. And now looking back, I was probably a lot harder on you about not telling people than I should have been.” He let the words hang in the air as he swallowed.

“It’s just how things were. I only had to lay my heart and the truth out there one time and let a girl slam the door on me to know that we couldn’t tell anybody. Most people can’t handle it. I was just trying to protect you.” Dean stared at a stain on the carpet, not wanting to meet Sam’s gaze. Sam sat back down and didn’t say anything, waiting on him to continue.

“Call me a hypocrite if you want to. Hell, I’ll even let you take a good swing if you think that’ll help. But sam…” dean, still not meeting his gaze, shook his head. “this girl… I swear… there’s something different about her. and I can hear myself, and I know how fucking ridiculous this sounds, I can’t explain it… but I just… I knew that it’d be okay. So I just told her, and she didn’t really say anything at first, but then she started asking question after question and… before I knew it, it’s after three, and I’m telling stories about hunts and we’re laughing.” He huffed a small laugh and finally looked up at sam with a small smile. “I don’t know man… ive never…” he took a deep breath as he tried to find the right words. “I’ve never felt a… a connection or whatever like this before. With anybody. And don’t know. I just couldn’t let her go without trying to be honest for once.” Dean finished and looked down at his boots turned over on the ground next to his bed.

Sam let out a long sigh after a minute of silence. He knew Dean. And he knew Dean was never straight with women so if he was this time, there had to be something to it. “Well, I’m glad she took it okay atleast. Hopefully we won’t be America’s Most Wanted tomorrow. Again.”

Dean looked up, a hopeful smile tugging the corner of his lips.

“I trust you, Dean. You know that. I don’t understand you sometimes...” sam rolled his eyes, “but I trust your judgement. And… I really hope this works out for you.” He nodded his head a little as he looked at Dean.

“You deserve some happiness too Dean.” Sam looked at Dean with the same big, sympathetic brown eyes that he’s looked at him with all his life. Did Dean make the best choices all the time? Definitely not. But they weren’t always wrong. And they were definitely all made with the best of intentions so he couldn’t hold it against him that he actually went with his heart for once.

Dean looked at him in silence and then smiled. He leaned over to switch off the lamp and darkness surrounded them as Dean slipped between the sheets and let his head sink into the pillow. The events of the night went through his mind in the blink of an eye as he stared up at the ceiling. He heard his brother get comfortable and stop moving as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

“G’night Sam.” Dean’s voice seemed loud in the quiet room.

“Night Dean.” Sam said as he smiled to himself.


End file.
